Some 58% of Italian companies have chosen to postpone some strategic investments because of duties. For example, 4 out of 10 companies are reconsidering the intensity of planned spending on Artificial Intelligence. In addition, 54% of the company is repositioning resources geographically and diversifying markets to try to reduce the damage of tariffs as much as possible. The climate of instability generated by the trade war, triggered by the United States, has also curbed acquisitions. In the first four months of the year, 390 M&A deals worth a total of about 9 billion euros were announced in Italy. Numbers that correspond to a 16% drop in the number of deals and a 70% drop in volume - due to a collapse in large deals - compared to the same period in 2024. Private equity funds' activity has also shrunk with 150 buy-out deals completed compared to 208 a year ago and value more than halved (€4.5 billion compared to €10.1 billion in the first four months of 2024).